A year-round balmy climate is hardly conducive for skiing and ice-skating, but tropical countries are now making their presence felt in winter games.

Taking part for the first time ever in the Winter Olympics Games are six countries — five of which are located in warmer climates: Ecuador, Eritrea, Malaysia,Nigeria and Singapore.

The athletes who are participating have one thing in common: Most of them are not based in the countries they are representing, and are training elsewhere.

Those five nations, along with Kosovo, are participants at the Winter Games, involving 92 countries and 3,000 athletes.

Here's how these unlikely countries made it to snowy Pyeongchang.

Ecuador

The South American country is represented by cross-country skier Klaus Jungbluth Rodriguez, who fell in love with the sport while studying in Norway.

The 38-year-old is now pursuing a PhD in sports science at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia. He will be competing in the 15 kilometer freestyle skiing.

Klaus Jungbluth Rodriguez of Ecuador competes in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships on February 23, 2017 in Finland.

Matthias Hangst | Getty Images

Rodriguez founded the Ecuadorian Ski Federation with the help of the country's National Olympic Committee and has raced in international competitions before this foray into the Olympics.

Eritrea

Alpine skier Shannon-Ogbani Abeda, a Canadian-Eritrean, will be representing the African country.

He was born in Canada, after his parents fled their home country due to a war.

The 21-year-old will be participating in giant slalom and slalom skiing.

Abeda, like his fellow athletes from the warm-climate countries, hopes to promote his wintry sport.

"Right now my focus is to go to the Olympics, but afterward I'd like to finish school, do some coaching and get the Eritrean community on some skis," he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Malaysia

This Southeast Asian country is represented by two athletes.

Born in the capital of Kuala Lumpur, Jeffrey Webb will compete under the Malaysian flag for alpine skiing. The 18-year-old moved to the U.S. at the age of five.

Webb's attempt to represent the country gained momentum after a Malaysian ski association was formed in 2013. He will take part in the giant slalom and slalom events.

Julian Zhi Jie Yee of Malaysia competes in Four Continents Figure Skating Championships on January 27, 2018 in Taiwan.

Atsushi Tomura | ISU | Getty Images

Figure skater Julian Yee was introduced to the sport by his mother — a former official at the Ice Skating Association of Malaysia — and started doing his turns in an indoor rink. Now, his training takes place primarily in Canada.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak gave a shout-out to the two last week on Twitter.

"Good luck to Julian Yee and Jeffrey Web who will be competing in the #WinterOlympics 2018. I am confident that they will bring glory to the country!" Najib wrote in Malay.

Nigeria

Three women will compete in bobsled for the country.

The trio of Nigerian-Americans are former competitive sprinters. One of them, pilot Seun Adigun, who recruited the other two for the attempt, had also competed in the London Summer Olympics in 2012.

Nigeria's women's bobsleigh and skeleton team members Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere, Akuoma Omeoga and Simidele Adeagbo attend a welcoming ceremony for the team in the Olympic Village in Pyeongchang ahead of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

Kirill Kudryavtsev | AFP | Getty Images

Setting their sights on the 2018 Winter Games, the three set out to learn bobsled.

Initially, it seemed like an impossible dream. The team started training in October 2016 by pushing a wooden cart in a sports center.